Black Ice Pond Hockey Championship starts Friday

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A tournament that honors New Hampshire's place in hockey history is getting under way in Concord.

The third annual 1883 Black Ice Pond Hockey Championship starts Friday at White Park. The date in the tournament's title refers to the year when students at nearby St. Paul's School played what is believed to be the nation's first organized hockey game on a frozen pond in the middle of the prep school's campus.

The tournament and others like it preserve the pared-down structure of the early days — teams play 4-on-4 with no goalies, body checking and slap shots are not allowed and the goals are 6-foot-by-2-foot boxes with slots cut into them.

The festivities, which run through Sunday, include fireworks, bonfires and concession stands.